I Inherited a Roth IRA. Now what?

My Comments: More and more people have Roth IRA accounts. A common question about retirement is whether to draw money from their Roth IRA first or take money from their non-Roth retirement accounts first. It depends. Any money not yet taxed is going to get taxed. Period. The Roth IRA money comes out tax free; …

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How Republics End

My Comments: We are now six months into the Trump presidency. I somehow knew it was going to be a challenge because the values that surround him are so very different from mine. What I didn’t expect was the utter fecklessness, wrapped inside a veneer of patriotism. I now have many more unresolved fears about …

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Retirement For Workaholics

My Comments: I’m NOT a workaholic. But I’ve learned that ‘retirement’ means very different things to people. For many of us, it’s an ugly word. For me it just means doing what I’ve done for decades, but with a recognition that today it takes me two hours to do what I used to do in …

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The Forces Behind Income Inequality in America

My Comments: Followers of my posts have heard me say that income inequality is the greatest existential threat to our society. It ranks up there with global warming. The path we appear to be on right now, both here in the States and across the planet, will not change until this issue is addressed. It …

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Is Social Security Going Broke?

My Comments: In 1983, when Social Security was on the verge of going broke, Congress made some changes to keep it alive and well. It’s again on the verge of going broke and there are ways to fix it. But were not yet close enough to the edge of the cliff for there to be …

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A 60-40 Portfolio Could Return Less Than A Savings Account

My Comments: How fast will your money grow? An expectation of growing money at an annual rate of 7% to 10% going forward is probably unrealistic. Interest rates and inflation rates are relatively low, and global economic growth rates are likely to slow down over the next two decades. See my earlier posts to understand …

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Protectionists Are Wrong About Unemployment

My Comments: This doesn’t tell the whole story. But it helps. And, yes, this does have political implications. Make America Great Again is a very complicated matter. What a surprise. And you thought it would be easy and would happen overnight after we drained the swamp. Well... Donald Boudreaux is a senior fellow with the …

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Make This Obstruction Thing Go Away

My Comments: Coming to terms with the chaos in Washington, DC is not easy. Especially if you are inclined to favor Democrat Party values and themes. The insights expressed here may help Democrats and Republicans alike. I simply know many of us on the left are not happy. By Dahlia Lithwick / June 22, 2017 …

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A $400 Trillion Financial Time Bomb

My Comments: Scary. I’ll be gone by then, but are you kids listening? Allison Schrager / June 2, 2017 Financial disaster is looming, and not because of the stock market or subprime loans. The coming crisis is more insidious, structural, and almost certain to blow up eventually. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that by …

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Nursing Homes, LTC And College Planning Are Toast, So Is Retirement

My Comments: I graduated from high school some 58 years ago this month. So… Time for a visit and see who is still alive. And also meet up with my college roommate whom I haven’t seen for 54 years. A busy few days. He's the one in the middle staring at the camera. So I …

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